FORT HUACHUCA, AZ — The company commander of a signal unit has been arrested on manslaughter charges after leaving his executive officer unattended in a parked car Friday, military police confirmed.

Capt. Rick Halset, 30, was apprehended after his Executive Officer, Lt. Carl Higgs, 26, was found dead, still locked inside the vehicle.Higgs was apparently left in the car outside the post exchange (PX) while Halset went inside to grab a few things. “I told him I’d be right back, I didn’t think I needed to leave the car running, I really only meant to be gone a minute,” said an obviously distraught Halset.

Bystanders reported the lieutenant had locked himself in the car with the windows up in the blistering Arizona sun. By the time Halset had returned, Higgs had suffered a heat stroke and passed away before base EMS could respond.

Carolyn Tyler, an army spouse, was heading to the PX when she spotted Higgs in the car.“I was walking in to get some Boone’s Farm for me and the hubby to enjoy when he got back from the field and I saw this poor lieutenant stuck in that car,” Tyler said. “It’s over 100 degrees here, what kind of monster would leave that little guy in a hot car with the windows up?”

Others tried to assist the young officer in unlocking the doors so he could get to safety.“I tried to coax him towards the door so maybe he’d hit the button, but I couldn’t get him to listen to me,” said Specialist Byron Tiller. “I’ve seen people do cruel stuff like that to lieutenants before, and it’s just not right. Unfortunately we got there too late to make much of a difference and before I called for a medic he was already headed out.”

“I just couldn’t bring myself to tell the Captain what happened to the lieutenant,” First Sergeant Bryan McGraw told reporters. “He didn’t seem to understand why he wasn’t moving anymore, so I just told him Higgs had to go to a B-billet in recruiting where he was going to be very happy. I even promised him we’d go to Fort Benning, or hell, even West Point, and pick him out a new lieutenant. But he just kept crying ‘I don’t want a new lieutenant, I want Higgs!'”“I really feel bad for the young Captain,” he added.

The incident has forced the Army to review its policies on the humane treatment of Lieutenants.

“Some people think getting a lieutenant is as easy as feeding them, but there are a lot of other things, like training, mentorship, etcetera,” said Col. Steven Chang, Halset and Higgs’ battalion commander. “And when you get these irresponsible CO’s who get lieutenants and then neglect them, that’s how you get these dangerous lieutenants who are just going to get fired and end up in some staff section with nobody who loves them, waiting on a mentor who’s probably never going to show up. That’s why I always adopt my staff from the S-3 or company office.”

Even enlisted soldiers are rallying to help young LT’s with the formation of the ASPCA, or Army Specialists, Privates, and Corporals Association. The ASPCA has a mission of “mentoring and caring for Lieutenants until they survive to make Captain,” according to ASPCA spokesperson Specialist Gina Woods.

While the Provost Marshall’s office at Fort Huachua is seeking to charge Capt. Halset with manslaughter, Col. Chang has succeeded in reducing the charge to one misdemeanor count of neglect of a Junior Officer.

“I listened to Colonel Chang’s argument, and I realized that it’s not really that young Captain’s fault,” said Maj. Stephanie Cook. “That’s a lot of responsibility to place on a young officer, and we’re proud that he remembered to feed him and take him for runs everyday.”

A couple of months ago, I visited our local AFB to try to find some uniform items for our Cadets.

I navigated via a site seeing tour, to Clothing Sales. The building was empty... I admit it, I am a 2nd LT in CAP, when I was active duty in the Army I was a Staff Sergeant. I got a Gold Bar and lost my brain. The last time I was on Base was about 10 years before, they moved stuff...

Since that moment, I have been getting flack from our DCC about being a 2nd LT...

“I just couldn’t bring myself to tell the Captain what happened to the lieutenant,” First Sergeant Bryan McGraw told reporters. “He didn’t seem to understand why he wasn’t moving anymore, so I just told him Higgs had to go to a B-billet in recruiting where he was going to be very happy. I even promised him we’d go to Fort Benning, or hell, even West Point, and pick him out a new lieutenant. But he just kept crying ‘I don’t want a new lieutenant, I want Higgs!'”

This is starting to sound like a sad scene in one of those movies... you know, where a dog or a cat dies, except in this case a LT.

Thus my last line, At least they serve as entertainment as everyone else seems to bash them. I never served, but the way that is portrayed in letters from service members, in books about the service by ex-service members, and others. By the ex-service members I know.

In other words, If you had you would have known to not take it seriously... Even 1st Lieutenants bash 2nd Lieutenants. Is not a secret.

In something like Infantry, that is more correct unless they were prior-NCO. However, in the healthcare fields, that is not correct. It is a mix as you will get some MEDPROs with experience and others without. An experienced PA that enters the military as a 2LT will probably be mentoring the 68W more than the SNCO babysitting him. The same is true for CLS officers or Public Health officers. They may need help with the military specific items, but the specialty items not so much. Now if you get those same officers that have no experience and joined just after graduating, then yes the SNCO will probably have to guide the officer more.

The best officer experience I saw was with a medical doctor. The man started as enlisted as a mechanic. Made it to E-6 and switched to Warrant Officer. Worked up to CW4 as a motor pool officer. He then went to medical school and became a captain. At this time, we were wearing BDUs with branch insignia. Needless to say, it was funny to watch him when the motor pool NCO would try to throw him BS since he was "just a medical doctor". That NCO looked like he just got ran over by a freight train. Good ol Doc Olsen.

Hooorrrrraaaaaah for all 2nd Lts!!!!!!! Or HUUuuuuuUUUAAAAAAAH for all 2nd Lieutenants...

At least they serve as entertainment as everyone else seems to bash them...

You can lead a man to satire, but you can't make him think...

And to be absolutely technical--'cuz you seem like that kind of guy--it should be: "Hooorrrrraaaaaah for all 2ndLts!!!!!!! Or HUUuuuuuUUUAAAAAAAH for all 2LTs..." (USMC = 2ndLt, i.e., no space between 2nd & Lt, while Army = 2LT. For bonus points, AF = 2d Lt.) You're welcome.